City Hall Insider … 10/17/25

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on Sept. 23, and all councilmembers were in attendance except for Abu Musa.
Proclamations were made to honor the following: Yemeni Revolution Day, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Fire Prevention Week.
Hamtramck is home to a sizable Yemeni community. The revolution anniversary acknowledges a key revolution that happened in Yemen on Sept. 26, 1962, which eventually led to the unification of the country in 1990.
Previously, the country had been split into North Yemen, or the Yemen Arab Republic, and South Yemen, or the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen.
In public comment, an email was read in which a neighbor near Trixie’s Bar on Carpenter complained about noise from the bar.
“Some of their events can be heard a couple blocks away,” the neighbor said.
The neighbor also complained that officers do not do anything when they complain.
Councilmember Mohammed Hassan said the city does have a noise ordinance. Deputy Police Chief Andy Mileski said the department is aware of the matter and is working on it.
Attorney Mark Koroi congratulated the city for winning a lawsuit filed against the city for its ban on displaying a pride flag on public property.
Shaker Sakead spoke about the allegations of election fraud by some councilmembers and others.
He said the investigations into the matter are a way to intimidate residents and are “unlawful, and a direct attack on our democracy. Certain city officials have overstepped every ethical and legal boundaries in their attempt to control the city.”
As for the charges, Sakead said they are “fabricated,” and residents were pressured into making “false testimony.”
“This is an assault on our community and democratic right,” Sakead said.
He also noted that he has asked the state attorney general and FBI to look into the investigations.
A lengthy discussion was held on a complaint by a Goodson resident whose property was damaged during the repaving of the alley behind his house.
He said the city failed to respond to his complaints and concerns.
Mayor Amer Ghalib said that making those repairs “has to be prioritized” by city officials.
Another resident questioned why water bills keep increasing.
Interim City Manager Syed Aamir Ahsan said it’s because the city’s supplier of water and sewerage services keeps passing on their cost increases.
A resident on Jacob complained about the condition of the street and how bumpy it has become.
It was explained that, when lead water lines were replaced at houses on the street, portions of the street had to be dug up and repaved.
“We pay taxes. Where’s my tax dollars going?” the resident said.
In new business, the council agreed to a state lawsuit settlement with Purdue Pharma with regard to what is perceived as the city’s opioid crisis.
The exact financial payout is not yet determined, but once the city receives the funding it is earmarked for “approved opioid remediation strategies, including prevention, treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and related public health initiatives. …”
The council OK’d a contract with the police department’s command officers. Councilmember Mohammed Alsomiri voted against the resolution, but he did not explain why he did so.
The 11 command officers received an extra $1,000 each.
Mayor Ghalib noted that there are ongoing complaints about how officers interact with the public.
“We have a lot of issues in the police department we need to address,” Ghalib said.
The mayor said that, while he appreciates police officers, the council has heard about certain behavioral allegations that “need to be addressed.
“We cannot continue the same behavior that we heard about from some officers, including the morale, the work ethics, stuff about overtime.”
In another matter, the council approved site plans for the construction of a new building at 8760 Jos. Campau, which is located at the corner of Goodson.
The agreement also calls for compensation for an artist, who created a mural that celebrates the Yemeni community that is located at the side of an existing next-door building, to recreate that mural on the side of the new building.
The reason for that stipulation is that the new building will block the view of the existing mural.
Councilmember Alsomiri voted against the agreement, but he did not provide an explanation for his objection.
Later, it turned out that there are ongoing negotiations regarding the mural. Former State Rep. Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck) said at a later meeting that he is leading the negotiations.
In Mayor Ghalib’s report, he said he has been in contact with the Trump administration about getting financial help to pay for the city’s pension obligation.
“I had some promises from the White House that they will try their best to do that for us,” Ghalib said. “If we can accomplish that we will save $6 million a year.”
Ghalib said this financial funding will solve “the most chronic and complicated issue for the city.”
Ghalib said he has also requested financial help for other issues, such as infrastructure repair.
“If we only get half of what we requested … that would be a historic accomplishment,” he said.
In the second portion for public comments, Ibrahim Aljahim said he noticed a Hamtramck police officer driving while holding a cellphone and talking to someone, despite a state law forbidding that.
He said the city needs a “citizen oversight commission” for the police department.
Aljahim said Hamtramck police officers are not respectful and “they’re not nicer.”
A resident complained about a police officer who was observed by her daughter “taunting” her dog “deliberately” when the dog was in her backyard.
Officers, she said, are “not nice. They are mean.”
Posted Oct. 17, 2025